Natar Ungalaaq


Natar Ungalaaq is a Canadian Inuit actor, filmmaker, and sculptor whose artwork is in many major collections of Inuit art worldwide. Before playing the lead roles in and The Necessities of Life , Ungalaaq played major roles in other Canadian and American films, including Kabloonak, Glory & Honor and Frostfire. He is also producer and director of the Inuit Broadcasting Corporation.
He was the carving buddy of director Zacharias Kunuk before they sold their handmade objets d'art to buy their first camera gear in 1981 and start a production company based in an Inuit community that didn't even have a TV.
Natar is also a renowned carver. He began carving when he was 9 or 10 years old, using his grandfathers tools. A carving of a Sedna made of white soapstone, "Sedna with a Hairbrush 1985", is featured in the National Gallery of Canada's collection.
In 2016, he made his debut as a director, codirecting the film Searchers with Kunuk.

Filmography

Awards

Ungalaaq was awarded the Best Actor award at the American Indian Movie Awards in 2002 for Atanarjuat. He won the Genie Award for Best Actor at the 29th Genie Awards for his role in Ce qu'il faut pour vivre. He also won the Jutra Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role and the Best Actor award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival for the same performance. In September 2009, Ungalaaq was presented with an award of distinction by the Nunavut Film Development Corporation. This award recognized Natar's body of work and his contribution to Nunavut's film community. In 2016, Ungalaaq won Best Indigenous Language Production for "Maliglutit " at the ImagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival.